The grandson of one of the Filipino immigrants who first settled in Hawaii in 1906 and then migrated to California in 1925, Larry L. Asera, dubbed as the energy czar of Vallejo, has accomplished many “firsts” for a Filipino in America in the fields of politics and business.

     At age 24, Mr. Asera was elected the youngest member of the Vallejo City Council in 1973, the very first Filipino American to be elected in the US mainland. At 27, he became a member of the Solano Board of Supervisors and eventually the board chairman at age 29, the youngest chairman in the history of Solano County. In 1981, he was appointed by Governor Brown as Deputy Secretary of State and chairman of the State Building Standards Commission, making him the first Filipino American to serve in a state cabinet-level post in California and the US. He also became the first Filipino American to be engaged as legislative consultant to both the State Senate and the State Assembly. Mr. Asera’s pioneering feats have inspired other Filipino American politicians to seek elective and appointive positions especially in the Bay area and nearby cities.

     An engineer by education, Mr. Asera is a recognized technologist in the field of photovoltaic energy development, having been the recipient of numerous state and international awards, including California Energy Commission’s State Energy Technology Award and the US Department of Energy’s Award for Innovation. Previously, in his work as chief legislative consultant to both the Senate and Assembly Committee of California, he helped draft legislation that promoted the use of solar energy in state projects and the development of programs converting solid waste and garbage into energy, as well as other laws advancing the use of alternative energy in California. He authored the law establishing the California Solid Waste Management Board which is advancing the alternative energy use throughout California. In 2004, he was one of those instrumental for the favorable decision of CalPERS, the largest public pension fund in the US, to retain the Philippines in its “Permissible Emerging Markets” list, thus maintaining the status of the country as a viable investment destination.

     After serving as vice president of the Pacific Gas and Electric Company which provides natural gas and electricity to most of Northern California, Mr. Asera founded the Asera, LLC Group of Companies, an international energy and environmental technology company specializing in the development of renewable energy resources to promote sustainable communities. His company recently entered in a co-venture agreement with the government of Puerto Princesa City, Palawan, to put up a $55-million solar power plant in the city. When completed, the project will be the first-ever local government owned generation plant in the Philippines. A project to convert the Mare Island Naval Shipyard as the central source of new energy for the city of Vallejo, home to more than 120,000 residents, is also in the pipeline. He has worked with USAID, contributing to the effort in bringing power to remote areas of the Philippines, Mexico and Malaysia through solar and photovoltaic “eco-village” installations.

     A graduate in Civil Engineering at the University of California at Berkeley, and masters degrees in Environmental Engineering, and Business Administration from the University of California at Davis and MIT, respectively, Mr. Asera also teaches at the Department of Engineering Technology at the California Maritime Academy, a campus of the California State University.

     In conferring the Pamana ng Pilipino Award to Larry L. Asera, the President recognizes his pioneering leadership and accomplishments in being the first elected Filipino American to serve in various public offices in the United States mainland, his support for investment in the Philippines, and for his expertise in the development of renewable energy technologies in the US and other countries.